Hey,
Check out the photos below of some old kitesurfing gear. Also shown in some of the photos is my gear for a bit of comparison.
A friend of a friend came over with it wanting to know how much it is worth. Initially I thought this is just some old crap that belongs in landfill but then I thought maybe this is so old that it is some of Australian kitesurfing history.
I began kiting in the early 2000's and the gear I started on was may more advanced than this. This got me thinking maybe this gear is some of the original stuff from the late 1990's. As you can see it is in good condition so has obviously just been sitting in someone's garage for a long time
So what do you guys think. It definitely does not belong out on the water so should it go to landfill or is it a significant part of kitesurfing history which should be saved?
Would be good to try riding it.
You would need good edge control tho without the depower (trim lol)
Also check to see how the safety works.
Oh and one last thing...
Make sure you get some footage.
Love the look of the board - I would definitely use that for downwinders - is it for sale Robbyb?
Safety system? what safety system. I think the safety system back then was a knife strapped to your leg
Is it for sale, well she came to me asking how much it was worth. I told her it would not be a good idea to sell it because a beginner may buy it and hurt themselves and its only value may be as a collectable. Maybe I was wrong
I don't actually think either of them are that old. People made silly long twintips like that up into the early 2000's and I have no idea about the kite but I know you could buy stuff like that for a fairly long time.
I've been kiting since 2000 so I've seen alot of progress good and bad over the years,
maybe one day a retro comp will be organised, there has got to be a few old pickle forks and ar5's in people's sheds.
I think the bar and ram air kite is a peter lynn arc or maybe a wallend air, board shape was common in early 2000's
Definitely not an Arc.
I have a few Cab Co2 2001-02 models in the garage, lets get competing haha.
Select to expand quotesir ROWDY said...
Definitely not an Arc.
I have a few Cab Co2 2001-02 models in the garage, lets get competing haha.
Yeah rowdy second look its not an arc
Oldest I've got in the shed is a naish x2, need to organise a day then mate
dont landfill the board !!!! take the straps off it and it would make a sweet bench seat , with a bit of character .
if your going to chuck it , ill pay postage to send it up and use it .
Select to expand quotelostatsea said..sir ROWDY said...
Definitely not an Arc.
I have a few Cab Co2 2001-02 models in the garage, lets get competing haha.
Yeah rowdy second look its not an arc
Oldest I've got in the shed is a naish x2, need to organise a day then mate
Got a mint 12m yellow X2 in the garage, have to give it a go one day when im feeling brave.
Select to expand quoteHybrid_Z said..lostatsea said..sir ROWDY said...
Definitely not an Arc.
I have a few Cab Co2 2001-02 models in the garage, lets get competing haha.
Yeah rowdy second look its not an arc
Oldest I've got in the shed is a naish x2, need to organise a day then mate
Got a mint 12m yellow X2 in the garage, have to give it a go one day when im feeling brave.
You're welcome to try my X3 18m when your are feeling fearless!
X2's and X3's aren't old or bad enough kites to compete I don't think, I could still do most my tricks on those today! haha. Need's to be at least an AR5 
.
X2 was one of the better kites Naish ever made... it all went backwards for a while after that if you ask me. Torch is good now though.
The problem with the kite surfing situation at the moment is that there is no WOW factor, not from the general populous anyway. I am referring to the "golden days" of stand up surfing back in the 50's and 60's. It wasn't until the 70s that Australia truly embraced surfing as a worth-while pursuit not just for the general population but as a professional sport. Wasn't surfing only recently inducted into the Olympics? Now if we overlay these time periods over kite surfing we have until 2050 - 2070 (another 70's!) for the sport to be taken more seriously and professionally? My point is the old gear shown above could be a treasure trove by then! I mean those pieces could be not only worth thousands but a serious collector to the generations beyond ours. So is it worth keeping? Well, what amount of space and patience do you have? Do it for kite surfing and the future generations or keep it because you see $$ in your eyes now? Or trash it?
I vaguely remember back in the 90s, surfers were obsessed finding a pro-60's surfer's board that was actually thrown away and was in some Californian tip. One guy offered to buy the entire tip just to find the board rumour has it! Can't remember the surfer sorry.
Yeah shrug your shoulder now, call me a hoarder, call me a kook (or a dickhead - meh), I don't care. But one day we will lament the loss of what started kite surfing in the first place and where/who/when/why. Some things are worth holding onto.
Hmmm valid point, but I really don't think kiting will ever be at the same scale. Some old skateboard decks also sell for thousands of dollars these days but they are rare and far between, especially in mint condition. I could be wrong however but I just don't think kiting will ever have that kind of pull for this old stuff. Maybe a mint condition Lou Wainman board or something, but I couldn't see anything else really being that valuable.
p.s. As far as I'm aware surfing isn't in the Olympics. Also I don't think that's really a measure of a sports greatness, merely an indication that the IOC think they can profit from it. Have a read of the history of Skateboarding V the Olympics... IOC has wanted skateboarding in the Olympics for years, but skaters don't want it.
Select to expand quotesir ROWDY said..
p.s. As far as I'm aware surfing isn't in the Olympics. Also I don't think that's really a measure of a sports greatness, merely an indication that the IOC think they can profit from it. Have a read of the history of Skateboarding V the Olympics... IOC has wanted skateboarding in the Olympics for years, but skaters don't want it.
True, but I for one would love to see kite surfing in the olympics. Why? Just for ego of course. But if it were so, the beaches will be fool of noobs.
Hey rowdy or any of the other guys who been around awhile, did you ever try one ofl Lou wainmen's early production boards? There was one called the buzz or maybe buzz bee board, 90cm long with no fins, back around 2001 from memory, I would pay good money ifI could get my hands on one of those !
Actually most those boards shaped by Jimmy Lewis for NSI were actually around 2003-2004. The yellow and black one was called the buzz I think and was as you said 90cm, it's the same board you used to see Lou riding sprayed up in Red Bull colours. There was also a few other sizes with similar names. Airush copied the idea a few years later and you could get a similar yet not quite as good product from them. I remember JB from Naish having one (The Buzz) and I rode it a couple of times. You need to be really powered but once you start going fast the single concave really grips and you're actually quite in control. It's a fun board to ride but definitely a bit of a novelty thing. Jason from West Oz kiteboarding has one of the Airush 90cm jobs.
